Bose 901

[RWebb]

alternatively, active speakers

just need to plug them into AC - the low power Class D amps have made great strides in SQ

kinda kills the turntable option tho

[Cajundaddy]

Bose 901 + Equalizer + 200w amp = just ok IMO

Other vintage speakers that withstood the test of time, sound better to my ears, and require a lot less power and less $$:

Altec Santana
JBL L100
Boston Acoustic A100
Advent Series 3
AR3a

The Altec and JBL are "west coast" design and tend to be bolder. The others are "east coast" and tend to be more refined. Some may require re-foaming the edges but were otherwise designed to last forever.

[MaxVon]

I worked at Bose on "The Mountain" facility in Framingham MA from 1978 to 1979. I started as an assembler on the 901 driver line. Jobs included assembly of the driver (speaker) components etc. I enjoyed gluing the dust cap on the voice coil over the speaker cone. Looks like a set of bunny ears in black.
They were very employee focused and training was very good.
Bose had several 53 foot trailers on site that were used for testing long term durability of the speakers. I never saw the inside of the trailers but a co-worker told me they had stacks of 901's plugged directly into 120V for days.
Dr. Bose was a very nice man and would have breakfast with us low level employees most every day.
I was there when they just started developing the automotive applications. They had a lottery to have a Bose system installed in employee's vehicles. I won! Unfortunately I owned a 1967 VW bug convertible and that didn't meet the criteria.
Bose were the speakers to have in the day. I bought several pairs of 901's for family and friends. My opinion of them is if you really want it loud, 901's got it done. Maybe not for everyone but still a great speaker.

[SiberianDVM]

If you need an equalizer, I have an ancient BSR with display that still works and would be period correct.

[KFC911]

Has to be the Bose EQ....designed for the 901s....not sure they are the same over the different series either.

edited: In theory that is

Rock on...

[jyl]

I was going to start a new thread about this, then realized I'd already started this one and had only to revive it . . .

A set of Bose 901 Series V did finally make their way into my house, along with a NAD 304 integrated amp and a NAD 2200 power amp (thank you, un-named Pelican!). I also bought a miniDSP 901 EQ (a DSP with the 901 equalization curves pre-programmed) and a cheap set of cocktail tables with pedestals that raise/lower and swivel to set the speakers on.

Initially, I ran the 901s from the NAD 304 (signal went from the 304 pre-amp out, to the miniDSP, then the 304 power-amp in, then the 304 speaker outputs to the 901s). They didn't sound that great. Disappointing.

Then I ran the 901s from the NAD 2200 (signal went from the 304 pre-amp out, via Y-cable to the 304 power-amp in AND the miniDSP, from the miniDSP to the 2200 power-amp in, then the 2200 speaker outputs to the 901s). The speakers sounded a lot better. I mean, the difference was very obvious.

After a week fiddling with location and orientation - how far from speaker to rear wall? how far between speakers? how high the cocktail tables, what direction speakers face? - I concluded that the speakers sounded best with:
- a solid wall surface behind them, to the extent possible (my brick fireplace surround)
- the tables as high possible (about 32" from floor)
- the speakers pointed at the room (I also tried them facing the rear wall).

But they still lacked high end - cymbals and hi-hats sounded muffled and dull, like Sonny Rollins is blowing in my room but Elvin Jones is doing his drums in another room. Lack shimmer, brilliance, etc.

This got me testing my hearing, which resulted in the other thread about hearing loss, and also looking at frequencies in music, which led me to conclude that since I can still hear to 10kHz-13KHz, I should be able to perceive some of the shimmer of cymbals. Although, hardly all of it: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/what-general-frequency-range-are-cymbals.98473/

As confirmation, my 21 and 25 y/o kids with their young ears also thought the speakers sounded dull, and my son's GF who is 21 y/o and a musician, agreed.

So I went looking for a tweeter that is omni-directional to add to the 901s. Found some cheap Radio Shack Optimus LX5 speakers on eBay - before you laugh, these are a two-way bookshelf speaker that were semi-famous for having the "Linaeum" tweeter that was considered pretty good back in the day and radiates in a omni (actually dipole) pattern rather than beaming. I simply connected them to the 304 speaker outputs and placed them behind the 901s (i.e., between the 901s and the rear wall, out of sight). So the 901s are driven by the 2200 and the LX5s by the 304, and only the 901s are getting the miniDSP EQ.

The difference was remarkable, everyone from old decrepit me to young kids/GFs agreed. More brightness, shimmer, brilliance, whatever you want to call it. No harm to the sound of the 901s. Except, the mid range was now a little too loud, due to the unwanted contribution of the LX5's "woofer", but this was just a quick-and-dirty test.

Next step is to remove the Linaeum tweeters from the LX5 speakers, place the tweeters on top of the 901s (right now the line-of-sight from tweeter to listener is blocked by the 901 cabinet), use a capacitor to pass only high frequencies to the Linaeums (I'm thinking around 8kHz or 1 uF), and figure out some sort of volume control on the tweeters (right now the 304's volume knob controls both the 901s and the LX5s), and get it all looking decent instead of the hot mess I have now.

[jyl]

I've read that some people have installed surface mount tweeters on the front and rear of the 901 cabinets, under the grille cloth, and maybe that's an option for later. But the easiest solution is going to be my preference, because . . . lazy . . .

[Jims5543]

**edit**

I just saw OP post date and last post, my apologies. Too late to that party.


My brother used to work for a mom and pop home audio shop in Lexington.

He asked me if I wanted a 10" Sunfire Subwoofer, it was an older model, I said sure then we went down a slippery slope and I ended up with 5 Sunfire surround speakers, 4 corners and a center speaker in addition to the Subwoofer.

My brother purchased them and sold them to me, if he purchased them he could get them wholesale and it was about 20% of the retail price.

Long story short, these small little speakers sound huge and are crisp and clean.

Here are a pair on ebay a little over budget but require no work.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sunfire-cinema-ribbon-CRM-2BIP-Speakers/274739650748?epid=99331413&hash=item3ff7c260bc:g:CLYAAOSw1rJgPpTW

[stevej37]

^^^ I currently use a 12" Sunfire Subwoofer. Amazing bass comes out of that thing.

[908/930]

jyi, Should probably remove the wires to the existing 901 tweeter (or tweeters) and use that to feed your new one, not sure if that was your plan. By just adding another speaker to the line you can end up dropping the impedance down too low, risking damage to your amp.

[TimT]

901's don't have tweeters.

[908/930]

I see, thanks TimT. I was thinking the ports sticking out were some sort of horn tweeter. No wonder the high frequency is not there.

Check your 901's if they are 8ohms and the tweeter you are adding is 8ohms with a small resistor in between you should be ok for impedance, the NAD 2200 is rated for 4 ohm loads.

Order a assortment of 10w 2,4,6,8 ohm power resistors and a assortment of non polarized caps and splice a wire from the tweeter back to your listening seat, then you can just change between the caps and resistors while listening, start by running one speaker to get it close.

[ramonesfreak]

today’s marks the first time i’ve read the names sonny rollins or elvin jones mentioned on this forum since i’ve been here. i’m not a hugger type but i would give you a big squeeze maybe if i could

i’m not a bose fan but i applaud your experimentation. good luck

[Rtrorkt]

Originally Posted by Rtrorkt

JBL 100’s. Just saying. Studio monitors for the rockers

+1, yep

[aschen]

Since you already have the minidsp you can configure your tweeters to be active with another small amp for them. Than you can adjust the level crossover point and eq for the tweeters independent of the speakers. Even the basic minidsp have 4 output channels. Minidsp is super flexible and fantastic. My main system is controlled by a minidsp shd which does crossover and eq for my subs along with dirac room correction.

If you really like messing around with this stuff you can buy a umik and use rew free software for in room measurements, great tool for audio geeks

[thor66]

the 901 did one thing well when it was new; lots of better speakers today, and for not huge $$$ either

[craigster59]

I used to have a Sansui 871 DB (black face version of 8700) 160 watts per channel with some beauty Sansui speakers that could handle 250w.

The ex threw them off of the back porch of the cabin during my “exit strategy”.

Damn, I loved that stereo.

[RWebb]

John, Can I convince you to toss the Bose's and get Paradigms, PSB, better Polks, Missions, Boston Acoustics, Definitive Technology, or JBLs?

or keep them and use them as fine surround speakers?

I hope the Vanagon is well.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by RWebb

John, Can I convince you to toss the Bose's and get Paradigms, PSB, better Polks, Missions, Boston Acoustics, Definitive Technology, or JBLs?

or keep them and use them as fine surround speakers?

I hope the Vanagon is well.

Maybe after I have wrung all the fun out of the 901s . . . they could go to my office . . .

The Vanagon has not driven for months. I am working on getting the 911 back on the road.

[creaturecat]

wouldn't bother.
they sound bad.
bought some a few years ago sold them shorty thereafter.